


but with everybody watching us.

by paleromantic



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Reimagining, Trans Male Character, Trans Neil Josten, a rewrite of that scene where neil puts andrew's hand under his shirt, i love this scene but there was so much more potential there, just trust me on that one, light light light angst, this is hella gay, trans andrew minyard though thats not mentioned, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 09:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18070595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paleromantic/pseuds/paleromantic
Summary: "Andrew, I'll watch him," His voice didn’t shake, which was as surprising as it was relieving. Andrew simply raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to cross his arms across his chest. Kevin turned to stare at him, but Neil had eyes only for Andrew. “He’ll be safe with me.”A bone-dry laugh spilled from Andrew’s mouth. “You?”





	but with everybody watching us.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [transandrewminyard (nocturnalboys)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturnalboys/gifts).



> I couldn't get this scene out of my head I had to write it or else I'd be restless for the rest of the night, enjoy! <3

The room was tense, but Neil swallowed his nerves like they were a bitter pill. Andrew needed to go away, he needed to get help, and Neil would be damned if he let Kevin make the man stay behind to take care of him.

"Andrew, I'll watch him," His voice didn’t shake, which was as surprising as it was relieving. Andrew simply raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to cross his arms across his chest. Kevin turned to stare at him, but Neil had eyes only for Andrew. “He’ll be safe with me.”

A bone-dry laugh spilled from Andrew’s mouth. “You?”

It was only one word, but with Andrew one word always spoke volumes. Neil didn’t reply though, just kept his gaze steady on Andrew’s face, waiting for one of them to crack. Andrew was the one who gave in first, shockingly enough, and Neil took a step back as the man started to move towards him. Distantly, he heard Wymack try to call Andrew off, heard Kevin’s sharp intake of breath, but he did nothing to stop Andrew from pushing him back hard against the wall. He swallowed, and waited for the man to speak.

"Oh, Neil," Andrew said, and the name sounded weighted on his tongue, like it belonged there. Then, mindful of his audience, he switched to German smoothly. "You and I both know that you’re no comedian. What do you get out of this?”

"I’m trying to take responsibility." Neil didn’t even try to move away, afraid to touch Andrew when he knew just how much each touch cost the man.

"Liar." Andrew shook his head. "You aren't fooling anyone. You expect me to believe that at the first sign of trouble you won’t tuck your tail between your legs and run?"

"If I was going to leave, I would have done it when Riko called me that name.” Neil said. "I promised you that I would stay, Andrew, so trust me. I'll take care of Kevin until you’re back."

"Trust you." The words were foreign on his tongue, and he laughed again. "You want me to trust a pathological liar with my life?"

Neil said. "Trust me, and I’ll tell you everything."

"Oh, but who _are_ you? Do you have a name?"

Neil had had many names in his short lifetime, but none had fit them quite like Neil did. “Call me Abram.”

"Why should I believe that?”

"I'm named after my grandmother," Neil said, bringing bile up with the words. "Abram is my middle name; it's the name my mother called me when my father wasn’t around.”

It was the name that the other kids had called him at the little league he played in, when he was allowed to play. "Ask Kevin about Abram if you don't believe me. He would know."

"Maybe I will." Andrew was searching his face for any signs of dishonesty, but there weren’t any to find. “Forgive me if I find this story a little hard to believe, rabbit.”

Neil gritted his teeth and weighed up his options. He couldn’t lift his shirt in front of everyone, couldn’t out himself like that and leave himself open to the judgement of them, so he did the only other thing that he could think of in the moment and reached out, taking Andrew’s hand and bringing it up under his shirt. Andrew’s eyebrows raised again, and his fingers twitched against the scarred and battered skin of Neil’s stomach before catching along the edge of his binder, touching the fabric gently and then pulling away slightly.

" _Do you understand?_ " Neil asked, watching Andrew’s expression. "Nothing Riko does will make me leave him, I’ve been through a lot worse than Riko Moriyama. That name is not me, not anymore.”

Andrew's jaw twitched. "Someone lied to me, didn’t they Abram? These boo-boos seem a little _rough_ for a child on the run."

"The story I gave you was mostly true," Neil said. "I might have left out some critical details, but I know you're not really surprised by that.”

Andrew snorted and his thumb brushed the area of skin just under the edge of his binder. “You could say that.”

Neil shivered. “If we survive this year and you're still interested, you can ask me about the rest later. I think it's your turn in our secrets game, anyway, right?"

Andrew pulled his hand away and folded his arms over his chest, making a fist and then relaxing his hand again. He drummed his fingers on his arm, seemingly considering his options. Finally, another laugh burst from his lips and he turned a bright grin on Kevin, sharp as the knives that Neil had left back in that awful house. "It'll have to do, won't it?"

Kevin looked more constipated than usual, but Andrew wasn’t asking for feedback as he turned to look at Betsy. "That’s sorted, then. Bee, we can go, right? The sooner we start, the sooner we can get this fucking mess over with."

"You could wait for Aaron," The lawyer who had spoken was a thin, rather weak looking man. Waterhouse, Neil assumed. He could only hope that the man was a better lawyer than he looked, for Aaron’s sake. "I'm on my way to get him now."

"No time for that," Andrew said. "He can take a number and wait."

With that, he left to check on Nicky who had been holed up in his bedroom since they had returned from the hospital, probably talking to Erik on the phone. Neil knew that the man would appreciate being able to see Andrew off before he went away for a while, and he also knew that Andrew was aware of that fact. The ‘monster’ persona slipped away a little more in front of Neil’s eyes, and he shook his head before looking to the others. When Andrew returned, he and Betsy left without so much as a backward glance, and soon after that Wymack stepped out to talk to the lawyers for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day.

"Aaron?" Neil asked quietly when Wymack came back unaccompanied.

"Waterhouse thinks he can get Aaron released until trial on his recognizance," Wymack said, his expression haggard. He never looked so old as when his Foxes were suffering, and they had been suffering a lot more recently. Neil wondered if he would worry this much over him, when his time came. He swallowed against the hollow feeling in his chest.

“Matt’s mother offered to wire money over to pay for his bail, but there’s no guarantee that Aaron will accept it. Those twins never seem to do what’s best for them, do they?” Wymack shook his head and then turned to look at Neil. “Speaking of those unpredictable assholes, when did _that_ happen?"

"When did what happen?" Neil asked with a slight frown, although he felt his chest squeeze slightly at the question. Something important between him and Andrew had shifted, and it wasn’t a surprise that Wymack had seen it too. Neil only hoped that it would survive Andrew’s time away from them all.

Wymack eyed him carefully, and then shook his head, turning to go. "Forget it, Josten. Go get some rest, yeah? It’s been a long day."

Neil went to his room dutifully, but it was a long time before he fell asleep.


End file.
